clear cutting alternate strips and scarifying …nofc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/bookstore_pdfs/23258.pdf ·...

CLEAR CUTTING ALTERNATE STRIPS AND SCARIFYING IN PURE WHITE SPRUCE

STANDS TO INDUCE WHITE SPRUCE REGENERATION - SASKATCHEWAN

by

V.S. Kolabinski andJ.M. Jarvis

FOREST RESEARCH LABORATORY

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA

INTERNAL REPORT MS-109

CANADIAN FORESTRY SERVICE

MARCH, 1970

INTRODUCTION

CASE HISTORIES

Trial 1

Location Description Work done Results Comments

Trial 2

Trial 3


Trial 4


Trial 5

Location :pescription Work done Results Comments

Trial 6


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

CONTENTS

Page

1

2

2

2 2 2 2 3

4

18

18 18 18 18 19

34

34 34 34 34 35

47

47 47 47 47 49

67

67 67 67 67 67

76

77

CLEAR- CUTTING ALTERNATE STRIPS AND SCARIFYING IN PURE WHI.TE SPRUCE

STANDS TO INDUCE WHITE SPRUCE REGENERATION- ~.SASKATCHEWAN

by

V.S. Kolabinski1 and J.M. Jarvis 2

INTRODUCTION

Whi..te spruce. .(P-.icea glauca (Moench) Voss). regenez:ation is scarce in bothdisturhed and undisturbed. stands (Candy 195-1) in the Mixedwood Forest Section of the Boreal Forest Regiotl.(Rowe 1959) primarily because sui table seedbeds are lacking. Various experiments have shown that exposed humus and mineral soil. are favorable seedheds (Phelps 1948 and 1951; Lees 1963 and 1964) because on such media moisture is usually available near the surface, -- especially. in the early part of. the summer when mos t seedlings are. establishing. a. root system.

In 1959 the Canadian Forestry Service, in co-operation with the Saskatchewan government, undertook to establish a series of cutting trials .in the Mixedwood Forest Section. The purpose was to test at the operational level the hypothesis that scarification by mechanical methods in conjunction with logging would induce sufficient white spruce regeneration to form potentially merchantable stands. In this series of trials strip clear cutting in an east~est direction was employed to create a range of environments (shaded on the south side of clear cut strips to full exposure on the north side) -on which to observe seedling development.

This report has been prepared to bring pertinent information together and. to present, in the form of case histories, results for each of the trials established; with exception of one trial area the results are for the first 5-year period following establishment.

1

2

Forest Technician., Liaison and Services. Section, Canadian Forestry Service, Prairies Region, Department of Fisheries and-Forestry, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Formerly - Head, Silviculture Section, Canada Department of Forestry and Rural Development, Forestry Branch, Manitoba-Saskatchewan Region, Winnipeg. Presently - Associate Dir~ctor, Canadian Forestry Service, Newfoundland Region,. Department. of Fisheries and Forestry, St. John's., Newfoundland.

2

CASE HISTORIES

Trial 1

Location: Twpo 41, Rge. 3, Sec. 36, W.2, Mer. (Figure 1)

Description: Trial 1 is on an area about 53 acres in size which in 1959 supported a mature white spruce stand with a total basal

area of about 144 square feet per acre; of this total about seven square feet was hardwood (Table 1). The terrain is flat and the soil is a high lime clay-loam tillo Sites on the area vary from moderately moist to wet but most are in the categories moist to very moist.

Work done: During the winter of 1959-60 alternate 2-chain wide strips were logged under the supervision of the Saskatchewan Forestry

Erancho All trees, whether merchantable or not were felled and skidded off the area.,

In August 1960, seedbed treatment was carried out on portions of the cut-over strips (Figure 2). A TD-14 crawler-type tractor equipped with a Saskatchewan fire-line plow was used.

In 1961, 900 permanent milacre quadrats (300 on cut-over scarified areas, 301 on cut unscarified areas and 299 on uncut areas) were established to assess regeneration; ten 1/5-acre plots were established in the uncut strips to obtain stand data; three small plantations were established on an uncut strip and on cut-over strips in both scarified and unscarified conditions to obtain information on plantation development in the various environments; 112 seed traps were set out (56 on a cut-over strip and 56 on an uncut strip) to obtain information on seedfall (Figure 2); and five permanent observation transects were established to observe seedbed receptiveness with the passage of time.

Results:

1. Losses occurred in the total number and total basal area of spruce on the uncut strips during the five--year period after logging (Table 1). This was due mostly to "wind-throw" along the edges of the stripso On the other hand, increases occurred in total number and basal area of hardwoods. No hardwoods were "wind-thrown".

2. Abundant seed was produced in 1961, 1962 and 1964; in 1963 and 1965 the crop was much smaller (Table 2)0 The poor seed year in 1963 is reflected in the absence of new germinants tallied on the permanent observation plots in 1964 (Table 3). As indicated by Table 3, however, suitable seedbeds were still available five years after treatment.

3. After five years, occurrence and abundance of spruce seedlings were much greater on the cut-over scarified conditions than on the others (Tables 4 and 5). Seedlings in the uncut conditions were small and weak; it would appear that in the uncut conditions seedlings become established after each good seedfall but persist

3

for only a few years. On the cut-over unscarified conditions hardwood regeneration is dominant.

l

4. Occurrence and abundance of white spruce regeneration by site are shown in Tables 6 and 7. Stocking was best on the moist sites, poorest on the wet sites and intermediate on the moderately moist and very moist sites.

5. Number of seedlings (excluding cotyledons) five years after treatment by height classes is shown in Figure 3. The greatest number and the largest seedlings occur on the scarified areas. Except for the one to three inch class there are more and larger seedlings on the cut-over unscarified areas than on the uncut areas. As noted above, seedlings on the uncut conditions do not persist.

6. The distribution of the various types of seedbed on each of the three conditions (cut-over scarified, cut-over unscarified, and uncut) along with the occurrence of seedlings on each is shown in Table 8. From these data it is apparent that decayed wood and seedbeds created by the scarification are the most favourable for germination and subsequent survival.

7. Survival and growth of planted seedlings (Table 9) has been best on the cut-over scarified areas, poorest on the uncut areas and intermediate on the cut-over not-scarified areas. Seedlings planted on F horizon, humus, overturned sod, haul roads , and on litter appear to have had the best survival rate (Table 10). Planting in the deep litter at the base of stumps and on squirrel caches is definitely a poor risk. The results obtained by planting on overturned sod and on litter are attributed to the fact that plenty of moisture was available because the sites were moist (see description of area). If sites had been drier, planting success on o,rerturned sod and on litter would probably have been poorer. Much of the mortality on humus was due to flooding.

Comments:

1. Results have indicated that scarifying moist to very moist white spruce cut-over will result in the establishment of adequate regeneration.

2. The Saskatchewan fire-line plow appears to be a good tool for treating these moister sites where footing for the tractor is poor. The tractor can maneuver the plow around stumps, removing the upper portions of the organic mantle, revealing the humus horizon without danger of becoming stuck.

4

3 •. To obtain. natural regeneration a source of seed must be maintained for a few years. Trees that are exposed on these moist sites as a result of partial logging are susceptible to wind~throw and there is a real risk that substantial volumes

.. of mature timber will be lost •

. 4. It would appear that moist to very moist white spruce cut-over (scarified or not scarified) can also be regenerated successfully by planting. Care should be taken to plant seedlings on spots where the organic mantle is the shallowest, and where

. the seedlings will not be flooded.

5. The year 1961 was extremely dry and thi~.·Jllay have had an influence on survival on the moist sites.

6. Rabbit populations were at a peak level in 1961 and many planted seedlings were damaged by browsing.

Trial 2

Tbis trial area was burned the year after logging and was abandoned.

Vei lIardvllle •

LEGEND Provincial highways and roads ...•• --<!>-~~ondary roads and trolls • • . . • •. ____ _

o 2 4 6 Miles Sea Ie: .' -=::iI' __ I ====IJ

5 09,,/5 L.

, I I

.; r , ,

'" , , I

" , ,

, t ' "''''/ " "

-~~ : '- I Me ride L. - - - - .... , \ ,_J ..... ..,)

Figure 1. Location of Area 1.

, , ,

Twp. 41, Rge. 3, Sec. 36, W.2 Mer.

VSK 4/9/70

LEGEND ~ #

Magnetic I North

2'\ r cnf::V> rUn cut //.. // # V"

.. 7777??",\.),X ? 177.11271 ... 15»")_'777\ 11'

.? .f .,.

R,'Jer

~ // ,

.f , .f

// ~ ,

? .... .., V?? «I, V U V/Y' 1'1' Y !, tl ",,,,tlL«O • Y J

.,. 1 i' A

Q. Sawmill Site

~l Uncut

Uncut ~.~

o 2 4 6 8 chains

S I L-..' ! I CO e: .-_ ... ,_ .. ,_ .... , __ VSK 3/18/70

Figure 2. Sketch of Area 1 showing cut-over strips, scarified areas, and location of sample plots.

TABLE 1

STAND TABLE, AREA 1

(basis - 10, 1/5-acre P.S.P.'s

Before Cutting Five Years After Cutting White sEruce Hardwoods White sEruce Hardwoods

Basal Basal Basal Basal Number area Number area Number area Number area

D.B.H. of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre (inches) Eer acre (sq. ft.) Eer acre (sq. ft.) Eer acre (sq. ft.) Eer acre (sq. ft.)

1 2.5 .125 9.0 .045 1.0 .005 19.5 .098 2 8.0 .176 2.5 .055 8.0 .176 8.0 .176 3 12.5 .612 0.5 .024 11.5 .564 1.0 .049 4 14.0 1.218 1.0 .087 11.0 .957 1.0 .087 5 15.0 2.040 12.0 1.632 6 11.5 2.254 1.0 .196 9.0 1. 764 0.5 .098 7 13.0 3.471 1.0 .267 13.0 3.471 8 16.0 5.584 1.5 .523 16.0 5.584 1.5 .524 9 20.0 8.840 0.5 .221 20.5 9.061 1.5 .663

10 21.5 . 11. 718 0.5 .272 20.5 11.172 0.5 .272 11 21.0 13.860 1.0 .660 18.5 12.210 1.0 .660 12 13.5 10.598 12.5 9.812 13 23.0 21.206 1.0 .922 24.0 22.128 0.5 .461 14 10.0 10.690 0.5 .534 8.5 9.086 0.5 .534 15 10.5 12.884 1.5 1.840 9.0 11.043 1.5 1.840 16 9.5 13.262 0.5 .698 10.5 14.658 0.5 .698 17 4.0 6.304 5.5 8.668 0.5 .788 18 3.0 5.301 3.5 6.184 19 0.5 .984 0.5 .984 20 1.5 3.273 1.0 2.182 21 0.5 1.202 1.0 2.405 0.5 1.202

" 22 1.0 2.640 1.0 2.640

ALL 231.5 137.258 22.5 7.328 218.0 136.386 38.5 8.150

Location

Uncut strip

South 1/3 Middle 1/3 North 1/3

Average

Cut-over strip

South 1/3 Middle 1/3 North 1/3

Average

1960

No data " " " "

No data

No data " " " "

No data

TABLE 2

WHITE SPRUCE SEEDFALL AREA 1, 1960 to 1964

1961

3,008,0002 (17) 3,000,000(5) 3,104,000 (5)

3,024,000 (27)

2,600,000(21) 1,998,000(8) 2,346,000 (19)

2,394,000(48)

1 Number Per Acre

1962

1,200,000(8) 1,035,000(8) 1,416,667(6)

1,119,091 (22)

1,018,333(12) 850,909 (8) 953,333(9)

919,070(43)

1963

278,461 (13) 340,000(9) 343,636 (11)

316,970(33)

264,444(9) 150,667(15) 121,053 (19)

177 ,674 (43)

1964

3,049,090(11) 2,816,000(5) 3,640,000(5)

3,134,286(21)

2,542,222(9) 2,521,250 (16) 2,408,750(16)

2,481,951 (41)

IViability of 1961 seed in December 1962 determined by cutting test on 800 seeds was 35%.

2

Germination test of 1962 seed in January 1964 on 500 seeds indicated 12% viability. Germination test of 1963 seed in January 1965 on 500 seeds indicated 7% viability. Cutting test of 1964 seed in December 1965 indicated 63% sound.

Figures in brackets indicate number of traps on which estimates were based. 00

9

TABLE 3

NUMBER OF NEW WHITE SPRUCE GERMINANTS TALLIED ANNUALLY

ON PERMANENT OBSERVATION TRANSECTS

1961 TO 1965, AREA 1

Total Number of New Germinants T;::-ansect area number (sqofto) 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965

1 180 171 217 23 0 3

2 223 101 163 14 0 23

3 201 22 13 6 0 2

4 137 124 121 7 0 3

5 116 14 113 5 0 6

ALL 857 432 627 65 0 37

Number per acre 21,945 31,852 3,302 0 1,880

TABLE 4

PER CENT QUADRATS STOCKED TO WHITE SPRUCE, OTHER SOFTWOODS

AND HARDOOODS, AREA 1

One Year After Treatment Five Years After Treatment White sl2ruce Other softwoods Hardwoods White sl2ruce Other softwoods

Number Regener- Advance Regener- Advance Regener- Advance Regener- Advance Regener- Advance

Condition of ation growth ation growth ation growth ation growth ation growth Quadrats % % % % % % % % % %

Cut and 1 scarified 300 63 4 15 47 2

Cut not scarified 301 4 23 1 42 8 10 0

Uncut 299 1 17 < 1 8 18 5 0

All 900 23 15 < 1 21 26 6 0

1 All hardwood regeneration classed as advance growth.

Hardwoods Regener- Advance ation growth

% %

25

54

31

37

.... o

Condition

Cut and scarified

Cut not scarified

Uncut

All

TABLE 5

NUMBER OF WHITE SPRUCE, OTHER SOFTWOODS AND HARDWOOD

STEMS PER ACRE, AREA 1

First Year Five Years After W~ite spruce Other softwoods Hardwoods White spruce Other softwoods Hardwoods

Number Regener- Advance Regener- Advance Regener- Advance Regener- Advance Regefiet- Advance Regener- Advance list ation growth ation growth ation growth ation growth ation growth ation growth quadrats Numbez: per acre Number per_a_cre _____ Number per acre NtlIllber_~r acre Number per acre Number pe~_<l.cre __

58 1,034 52 69 1,483 17 672

60 50 267 17 450 200 250 o 2,617

60 34 250 34 683 67 900

178 365 191 6 185 781 112 o 1,404

.... ....

TABLE 6

PER CENT STOCKING OF WHITE SPRUCE REGENERATION BY SITE, AREA 1

Number Per Acre First Year 1 Number Per Acre Five Years After

Site Site Moderately Very Moderately Very

Condition moist Moist moist Wet moist Moist moist Wet

Cut·and sca:r;ified 47(87) 69 (195) 44(18) 0(0) 39 (87) 52 (195) 19(18) 0(0)

Cut not scarified 0(82) 5 (144) 5 (59) 6 (16) 2(82) 10(144) 12(59) 6 (16)

Uncut 1(95) 1(127) 1(74) 0(3) 14(95) 27(127) 12 (74) 0(3)

All 19(264) 31 (466) 8(151) 5(19) 19(264) 32(466) 15 (151) 5(19)

1 Figures in brackets represent number of quadrats.

.... N

TABLE 7

NUMBER OF WHITE SPRUCE REGENERATION PER ACRE BY SITE, AREA 1



Condition moist Moist moist moist Moist moist

Cut and scarified 611 (18) 1,278(36) 750(4) 1l~0) 778 (18) 1,639(36) 3,250(4)

Cut not scarified 0(16) 34(29) 91 (11) 150 (4) 0(16) 379(29) 0(11)

Uncut 53 (19) 38(26) 0(15) 0(0) 526 (19) 1,038(26) 267(15)

All 226(53) 593(81) 133 (30) 150(4) 453 (53) 1,198(81) 467(30)

1 Numbers in brackets equal number of list quadrats.

Wet

0(0)

0(4)

0(0)

0(4)

..... w

1- Cutover and Scarified

en I ~ - Cutover not Scarified CJ)

c

"'C

40r I I D - Uncut Q) Q)

CJ)

'f-0 30 ... Q)

.c E :::s 20

Z

10

0 ... '----I - 3 4-6 7-9 10-12 13-15 16+ 1 - 16+

Height Closs (inches) Figure 3. Number of white spruce seedlings (excluding cotyledons) by height class five years

after treatment, Area I. (Basis:tallest seedling on each stocked quadrat).

TABLE 8

DISTRIBUTION OF SEEDBED TYPES AND OCCURRENCE OF WHITE SPRUCE SEEDLINGS,

ONE YEAR AND FIVE YEARS AFTER TREATMENT, AREA 1

Per Cent Occurrence Seedbeds and White Spruce Seedlings

Cut-over scarified areas Cut-over not scarified areas Uncut areas basis: 300 guads. basis: 301 9,uads. basis: 209 guads.

Seedlings Seedlings Seedlings Type of 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd seedbed Seedbeds xear xear Seedbeds xear Xear Seedbeds xear xear

Litter 8 1 1 48 0 20 75 0 15

Grass 1 0 0 14 0 0 17 0 0

Feather moss 0 0 0 2 0 10 5 0 10

F-horizon 1 14 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

Humus 4 40 12 1 58 0 0 0 0

Mineral soil 3 22 17 0 0 0 0 0 0

~ture (organic 78 23 67 6 34 7 0 0 0 + mineral)

Debris piles 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2

Slash 3 0 0 27 0 7 2 0 0

Decayed wood 0 0 0 1 8 56 0 100 73 ..... VI

All 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

TABLE 9

PER CENT SURVIVAL AND AVERAGE HEIGHT WHITE SPRUCE PLANTATIONS ON AREA 1,

1961 TO AUGUST 1965

Number Per Cent Survival Average Height (inches) planted

Planting June July August July August July August July site 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1961 1962 1963 1964

Cut-over scarified 321 80 73 68 63 6.4 8.4 12.7 15.8

Cut-over not scarified 315 61 55 49 46 5.3 7.1 10.4 13.4

Uncut 322 50 37 33 29 4.3 5.0 6.1 7.1

August 1965

18.8

16.9

8.1

..... 0\

TABLE 10

PER Cfu~T SURVIVAL OF PLANTED WHITE SPRUCE SEEDLINGS BY PLANTING SITE

AFTER 5 GROWIN G SEASONS, AREA 1

Cut-over and Scarified Cut-over not Scarified Uncut

Number Survival Number Survival Number Survival Condition on which planted 1965 planted 1965 planted 1965 seedling~l~nted 1961 (%) 1961 (%) 1961 (%)

Litter 108 57 254 49 203 36

F-horizon 29 65 0 .

0

Humus 39 67 1 0 0

Overturned sod 132 69 0 0

Haul road 0 9 89 0

Litter (base of stump) 0 13 15 50 8

Slash 11 45 27 64 0

Decayed wood 0 11 27 39 38 .....

Debris piles 2 50 0 0 -...J

Squirrel cache 0 0 30 3

All 321 63 315 46 322 29

18

Trial 3

Location: Twp. 53, Rgeo 26, Sec. 30, W,2 Mer. (Figure 4)

Description: Trial 3 is about 11 acres in size and in 1959 the area supported a mature white spruce stand with a total basal

area of about 150 square feet per acre; of this total about 38 square feet was hardwood (Table 11), The terrain is slightly rolling and the soil is a silty loam. Sites vary from fresh to moist but most of the area i.s in the categories fresh to moderately moist.

Work done: During the winter of 1959-60 alternate 2-chain-wide strips were logged under the supervision of the Saskatchewan

Eorestry B:ancho Only merchantable trees were felled and skidded off the area. In the spring of 1961 trees still remaining on the cut-over strips we.re girdled.

In August 1960, seedbed treatment was carried out. Except for t~e west end of strip 1 all cut-over strips were completely scarified (Figure 5)0 A TD-18 crawler-type t~actor with a straight blade was used fO t preparing seedbeds.

In 1961, 603 permanent milacre quadrats (300 in cut-over scarified areas and 303 in uncut areas) were established to assess regeneration; five permanent 1/5-acre plots were established on the uncut strips to obtain stand data; 582 white spruce seedlings were planted (204 on cut-OV€X scarified areas, 199 on cut-over unscarified areas and 179 on uncut areas) to obtain information on the development of planted stock in various environments; and two permanent observation transects were established to observe seedbed receptiveness with the passage of time. The Saskatchewan government provided information on annual seedfall from one of their studies nearby.

Results:

10 During the five-year period after logging no white spruce losses were observed as a result of "wind1throw"c The spruce basal area on the uncut strips increased from 113 square feet per acre to 123 and the number of trees per acre increased f:::om 326 to 36 L On the other hand the hardwood basal area declined from 38 square feet per acre to 35 due to mortality of a few large trees; the total number of trees remained the same (Table 11) e

20 Abundant seed was produced in 1960, 1962 and 1964; the crop in 1961 and 1963 was much smaller (Table 12). The poor seed years 1961 and 1963 are reflected in the smaller tally of new germinants in 1962 and 1964 than in 1961, 1963 and 1965 (Table 13). As indicated by Table 13 suitable seedbeds were still receptive five years after treatment.

19

3. After five years, occurrence and abundance of spruce seedlings were greater on the cut-over scarified areas than on the uncut areas (Tables 14 and IS), As on Area 1, seedlings on the uncut conditions were smaller and weaker than those on the cut-over scarified condition,

4, Occurrence and abundance of white spruce seedlings by site are shown in Tables 16 and 17. After five years they occurred more frequently and were more abundant on fresh and moderately moist sites than on moist sites " However, even moist sites on the cut-over scarified areas were well stocked.

5. Number of seedlings (excluding cotyledons) five years after treatment by height classes is shown in Figure 6. Seedlings on the cut-over scarified areas, as well as being more numerous, were much larger than those on the uncut areas.

6. Distribution of various seedbed types on cut-over scarified conditions and on uncut conditions is shown in Table 18. In keeping with results for Trial 1 those for Trial 3 show that mineral soil, humus, mixture and decayed wood seedbed appear to be the best for white spruce.

7. Survival of planted seedlings was best in cut-over scarified areas, poorest on cut-over unscarified areas and intermediate on uncut areas (Table 19).

8. Seedling development was better on cut-over areas than on uncut areas,

9. Seedlings planted on mineral soil and on areas covered with feather moss appeared to have had the best survival rate (Table 20).

Comments:

L Results have indicated that scarifying fresh to moist white spruce cut-overs with a blade will produce seedbeds suitable for spruce germination and subsequent seedling survivaL For the five-year period after logging none of the spruce trees in the uncut stand were wind-thrown. In that time the stand may not have experienced extremely strong winds. On the other hand, since the area is for the most part well-drained, deep root systems may have developed making the trees more windfirm than those on Area 1 which had shallow root systems because of high water tables.

2. Results have also indicated that planting on bulldozed fresh to moist sites will give better results than planting on cut-over unscarified areas or under the existing stand.

20

3. The high mortality of transplants on cut-over unscarified areas was not in keeping with the results from Area 1. It may have been due to a combination of severe rabbit browsing, severe competition from grass which invaded that particular part of the unscarified strip where the seedlings had been planted, and effects of the drought.

40 Growth of survivors followed the same trend as on Area 1. It was best on cut-over scarified areas, poorest on uncut areas and intermediate on cut-over unscarified areas.

50 The year 1961 was extremely dry.

AREA 3

Christopher Lake

2

Spruce Home 6-__ -<

LEGEND Provincial highways and roads ....•. -@Secondary roads and trails ••..•...

o 2 4 6 Miles Scale: .!~==! ..... !c===~1

PRINCE ALBERT

Figure 4. Location of Area 3, Twp. 53, Rge. 26,

Sec. 30, W.2 Mer.

VSK 4/13/70

LEGEND

Regeneration transect".............. • Permanenf observation transect •.•.•.

S I f · d r7W--m"""-car • ear e as. . • • • . . • . . . . • • • • • • .... _"-"-_'""-1

Plantation rows ...........•..•... ______ _

• " II,"" I''"'' ,,0 \\~ II

"

\\ ,\

\1 \\

11 " Cut -over " (D.N.R. study area) II

"" ""

II

"" "" "" ""

Strip-I Cut-over

, , ,,"Strip -4

, Uncut

Strip-3 Cut-over

~ 'o ~

o 2 Scale: ! ! i chains

VSK 3/20/70

Figure 5. Sketch of Area 3 showing cut-over strips, scarified areas and location of sample plots.

TABLE 11

STAND TABLE, AREA 3

(basis - 4, 1/5-acre P.S.P.'s)

Before Cutting Five Years After Cutting

White s12ruce Hardwoods White s12ruce Hardwoods D.B.H. Number Basal area Number Basal area Number Basal area Number Basal area (inches) of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre

12er acre (sq. ft.) 12er acre (sq.ft.) 12er acre (sq. ft.) 12er acre (sq. ft.)

1 18.8 .094 20.0 .100 26.2 .131 30.0 .150 2 15.0 .330 1.2 .026 16.2 .356 3 18.8 .921 27.5 1.348 2.5 .122 4 31.2 2.714 1.2 .104 28.8 2.506 1.2 .104 5 32.5 4.420 1.2 .163 36.2 4.923 1.2 .163 6 31.2 6.115 8.7 1.705 38.8 7.605 6.2 1.215 7 28.8 7.690 15.0 4.005 25.0 6.675 12.5 3.338 8 25.0 8.725 23.7 8.270 32.5 11. 342 21.2 7.340 9 30.0 13.260 21.3 9.414 27.5 12.155 11.2 4.950

10 30.0 16.350 11.2 6.104 32.5 17.712 12.5 6.812 11 27.5 18.150 3.7 2.442 25.0 16.500 10.0 6.600 12 18.8 14.758 3.8 2.983 17.5 13.738 1.2 .942 13 10.0 9.220 1.2 1.106 16.2 14.936 2.5 2.305 14 5.0 5.345 1.2 1.282 7.5 8.018 1.2 1.283 15 2.5 3.068 2.5 3.068 16 1.2 1.675 1.2 1.675

All 326.3 112.835 113.4 37.704 361.1 122.688 113.4 35.324

N w

Location

Uncut strip

Cut-over strip

1960

3,005,640

1,161,247

TABLE 12

WHITE SPRUCE SEEDFALL

AREA 3

1961

89,120

43,560

Number Seed per Acre

1962

2,308,680

1,248,353

1963

21,780

2,904

24

1964

5,600,000

3,120,000

25

TABLE 13

NUMBER OF NEW WHITE SPRUCE GERMINANTS TALLIED ANNUALLY ON

PERMANENT OBSERVATION TRANSECTS

1961 TO 1965, AREA 3

Total Transect area number (sq. ft.) 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965

1 248 259 5 24 2 47

2 242 304 13 64 3 82

All 490 563 18 88 5 129

Number per acre 50,051 1,600 7,823 444 11,468

TABLE 14

PER CENT QUADRATS STOCKED TO WHITE SPRUCE AND HARDWOODS,

AREA 3

First Year Five Years After

White s12ruce Hardwoods White s12ruce Hardwoods Number Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance of eration growth eration growth eration growth eration growth

Condition quadrats % '% % % % % % %

Cut and 1 scarified 300 56 7 76 58 4 80

Uncut 280 4 23 28 27 15 33

All 580 31 15 49 41 9 57

lAlI hardwoods regeneration classed as advance growth.

to.)

0\

TABLE 16

PER CENT STOCKING WHITE SPRUCE REGENERATION BY

SITE, AREA 3

1 Per Cent Stocking Five Years Per Cent Stockins First Year After

Site Site

Moderately Moderately Condition Fresh moist Moist Fresh moist Moist

Cut and 57(159) _ 53 (103) 55 (38) 61(159) 58 (103) 47(38) scarified

Uncut 4 (210) 4(70) 0(0) 25 (210) 31 (70) 0(0)

All 27(369) 34 (173) 55(38) 41(369) 47(173) 47(38)

IFigures in brackets represent number of quadrats.

N co

TABLE 17

NUMBER OF WHITE SPRUCE REGENeRATION PER ACRE BY SITE, AREA 3


Site Site

Moderately Moderately Condition Fresh moist Moist Fresh moist Moist

Cut and 364(33) 800(20) 1,429 (7) 4,333(33) 4,500(20) 1,714(7) scarified

Uncut 0(40) 0(12) 0(0) 1,250(40) 1,500(12) 0(0)

All 164 (73) 500(32) 1,429(7) 3,877(73) 3,375(32) 1,714 (7)


to.,)

\0

160

I 6T

I < Cutover and Scarified

(/) 50 L - D - Uncut

C\ c;

"C Q) Q) 40

(J)

'to-0

30 ... Q)

.c E ::::s

Z 20

10

o ,"-----....,j 1 - 3 4-6 7-9 10 - 12 13-15 16+ 1-16+

Height Class (inches)

Figure 6. Number of white spruce seedlings (excluding cotyledons) by height closs five years after treatment, Area 3. (Basis: tallest seedling on each stocked quadrat).

31

TABLE 18

DISTRIBUTION OF SEEDBED TYPES AND OCCURRENCE OF WHITE SPRUCE

SEEDLINGS ONE YEAR AND 5 YEARS AFTER TREATMENT,

AREA 3

Per Cent Occurrence Seedbed Types and White Spruce Regeneration

Cut-over and scarified Uncut basis: 300 guadrats baris: 280 guad:::-ats

Type of Seedbed Re~eneration Re~eneration

Seedbeds 1st year 5th year Seedbeds 1st year 5th ye~E

Litter 21 0 1 66 9 16

Feather moss 5 0 1 22 0 5

F-horizon 1 4 0 0

Humus 2 17 12 0

Mineral Soil 24 71 65 1 18 6

Mixture (organic and mineral) 35 8 14 0

Debris piles 4 0 1 1 0 0

Haul road 0 1 . 6

Slash 7 0 0 8- 0 0

Decayed wood 1 0 6 1 73 67

All 100 100 100 100 100 100

32

TABLE 19

PER CENT SURVIVAL AND AVERAGE HEIGHT WHITE SPRUCE PLANTATIONS ON

AREA 3, 1961 TO JULY 1965

Number Per Cent Survival Average Height (inches) Planting planted site June July July July July July July

1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965

Cut-over No No scarified 201 70 66 data 63 706 10.0 12.3 data 22.5

Cut-over not No No scarified 199 29 25 data 21 8.4 10.1 12.0 data 18.4

No Uncut 179 61 48 No 44 5.9 6.9 8.4 data 9.8

data

33

TABLE 20

PER CENT SURVIVAL OF PLANTED WHITE SPRUCE SEEDLINGS BY PLANTING SITE

AFTER 5 GROWING SEASONS, AREA 3

Cut-Over Cut-over Condition on and Scarified not Scarified Uncut which seedling Number Survival Number Survival Number Survival planted planted (per cent) planted (per cent) planted (per cent)

1961 1965 1961 1965 1961 1965

Litter 58 47 135 7 106 43

F-horizon 5 0 0 0

Mineral soil l37 76 6 50 0

Litter (base of stumps) 1 0 7 0 4 0

Slash 0 2 100 0

Feather moss 0 29 48 63 44

Dead feather moss 3 100 19 63 6 83

Decayed wood 0 1 0 0 0

All 204 63 199 21 179 44

34

Trial 4

Location: Twp. 68, Rge. 25, Sec. 4 and 9, W.2 Mer. (Figure 7).

Description: Trial 4 is about 12 acres in size and in 1960 the area supported a stand with a total basal area of 142 square

feet per acre; white spruce, other softwoods (mainly balsam fir) and hardwoods accounted for about 92, 13 and 37 square feet of basal area per acre, respectively (Table 21). The terrain is gently rolling and the soil is a silty clay loam till, Sites vary from fresh to moist but most of the area is in the fresh to moderately moist category,


Forestry Branch. In the summer of 1961 hardwoods remaining on the cutover strips were girdled.

Seedbed treatment was carried out by the Saskatchewan government in August 1962 (Figure 8). A TD-14 tractor equipped with a Saskatchewan fire-line plow was used,

In July 1963 a total of 605 milacre quadrats (203 on cut-over scarified areas, 202 on cut-over unscarified areas and 200 on uncut areas) were established to assess regeneration. Five 1!5-acre plots were established on the uncut strips to supply stand data.

In May 1963 a total of 558 white spruce seedlings were planted on the area by the Saskatchewan government (192 on cut-over scarified areas, 192 on cut-over unscarified areas and 172 on uncut areas) (Figure 8),

Results:

Ie During the five-year period after logging, losses occurred in the total number of trees and basal area per acre for all species (Table 21). All of the mortality was attributed to old-age; no trees were "wind-thrown".

2, The occurrence and abundance of white spruce, other softwoods and hardwood reproduction is shown in Tables 22 and 23. Stocking to white spruce is poor on all conditions,

30 Per cent stocking and abundance of spruce seedlings by site are given in Tables 24 and 250 Although stocking is poor on all sites it is better in the fresh sites than on either the moderately moist or moist sites.

4. As indicated by Figure 9 there are more and larger seedlings on the cut-over scarified areas than on the uncut and cut-over unscarified areas,

35

5. The distribution of seedbed types on each of the three conditions (cut-over scarified, cut-over not scarified and uncut) is shown in Table 26. These data like those from Areas 1 and 3 show that mineral soil, decayed wood and other seedbeds created by scarifying are the best for germination and survival.

6. Survival of planted seedlings has been good on all conditions (Table 27) and like the other areas development of seedlings is best in cut-over scarified areas, poorest on uncut areas and intermediate on cut-over unscarified areas.

7. Survival rate was good for all planting conditions. However, planting at the base of a stump and on litter produced poorer results than planting on other conditions (Table 28).

Comments:

1. Natural regeneration has been very poor on this area primarily because of poor scarification. Examination of Table 26 will show that only 33 per cent of the area was actually treated. Furthermore the seedbeds created were of a poor quality. The tractor operator had a tendency to plough too deeply creating deep furrows and high ridges. Many seedlings in the furrows were killed by flooding or were buried by alluvium washed from the ridges. Seedlings on the high ridges died from drought and those in the sides were washed from the soil.

2. As a result of this test it is recommended that scarification on fresh to moist sites be carried out using a straight blade--not a Saskatchewan fir-line plow.

3. The excellent survival rate of seedlings planted on all conditions may be due, at least in part, to the fact that weather conditions in 1963, 1964 and 1965 were near normal, much more favourable than in the drought year of 1961.

AREA 4

.LEGEND

, , , \

\

\ \ \ \

Provincial highways and roads . ..... ~

Secondary roads and trails . ...... .

o 2 4 6 Miles Sea Ie: II' -==:j' __ i:' ==:=::il

\ , \ \ \

\ \

Figure 7. Location of Area 4.

, "

/ ~MOlonoso

L.

/ ..

VSK 4/14/70

Twp. 68, Rge. 25, Sec. 4 & 9, W.2 Mer.

...-I

It 1/ II

LEGEND t c;,e .......

~e ... "{ !.G.... .... Regeneration transect............ • ...-

Scarified areas ••..•..••.•....• ~ Ploughed furrow .•...•••.•.•.•.••• ////// Plantation plots ....•.•••.•..... A,B,C

1 N (II

I /" /1

I II ,/

Ut CD ..., ClD

1/, /, //~, /, ,,,

Strip -2 --Uncut

~---

-

Strip - 5 Cut-over

\ \

Strip - 4 Uncut

\ \

~~~~~~~==~~~~~~ ~

I . Strip-I

Cut -over

o 2 3 chains Sea Ie: 'illllt::: __ i::' ==:il

VSK 3/23/70

Figure 8. Sketch of Area 4 showing cut-over strips, scarified areas

and.location of sample plots.

TABLE 21

STAND TABLE, AREA 4

(basis - 5, liS-acre P.S.P.'s)

Before Cutting Five Years After Cutting

White sl2ruce Other softwoods Hardwoods White sl2ruce Other softwoods Hardwoods Basal Basal Basal Basal Basal Basal

D.B.H. Number area Number area Number area Number area Number area Number area (inches) of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre

l2er acre (s9,. ft.) l2er acre (s9,. ft.) l2er acre (s9,. ft.) l2er acre (s9,. ft.) l2er acre (s9,' ft.) l2er acre (s9,. ft.)

1 59 .295 40 .200 95 .475 71 .355 42 .211 95 .475 2 50 1.100 35 .770 34 .748 37 .814 30 .660 34 .748 3 23 1.127 15 .735 9 .441 28 2.436 16 1.392 10 .490 4 17 1.479 7 .609 6 .522 15 1.305 6 .522 2 .174 5 15 2~040 3 .408 4 .544 13 1. 768 3 .408 3 .408 6 12 2.352 8 1.568 15 2.940 5 .908 3 .588 7 14 3.738 3 .801 5 1.335 13 3.471 4 1.068 4 1.068 8 9 3.141 4 1.396 4 1.396 13 4.537 1 .349 3 1.047 9 13 5.746 3 1.326 3 1.326 13 5.746 7 3.094

10 2 1.090 4 2.180 9 4.905 4 2.180 2 1.090 9 4.905 11 5 3.300 7 4.620 3 1.980 5 3.300 12 6 4.710 1 .785 6 4.710 3 2.355 1 .785 13 7 6.454 8 7.376 4 3.688 14 9 9.621 2 2.138 5 5.345 5 5.345 1 1.069 15 5 6.135 5 6.135 1 1.227 1 1.227 16 5 6.480 5 6.980 17 5 7.880 1 1.576 4 6.304 18 4 7.068 2 3.534 19 3 5.907 2 3.938 2 3.938 1 1.969 20 1 2.182 2 4.364 21 1 2.405 2 4.810 22 3 7.920 1 2.640 2 5.280 23 1 2.885 1 2.885

All 268 92.170 125 12.916 192 37.406 266 86.838 111 8.976 182 23.966

w 00

TABLE 22

PER CENT QUADRATS STOCKED TO WHITE SPRUCE, OTHER SOFTWOODS AND HARDWOODS,

AREA 4


White s12ruce Other softwoods Hardwoods White s12ruce Other softwoods Number Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance

Condition of eration growth eration growth eration growth eration growth eration growth Quadrats % % % % % % % % % %

Cut and 1 scarified 203 40 5 2 3 37 9 6 < 1

Cut not scarified 202 1 13 <1 2 54 2 15 2

Uncut 200 < 1 16 2 6 48 6 17 3

All 605 13 11 1 3 47 5 13 < 1 2

1 All hardwoods regeneration classed as advance growth.

Hardwoods Regen- Advance eration growth

% %

32

57

54

47

W \0

Condition

Cut and scarified

Cut not scarified

Uncut

All

TABLE 23

NUMBER OF WHITE SPRUCE, OTHER SOFTWOODS AJ.'W HARDWOOD STfu'1S PER ACRE,

AREA 4


White spruce Other softwoods Hardwoods White spruce Other softwoods Hardwoods

Number Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance list eration growth eration growth eration growth eration growth eration growth eration growth ,!uadrats Number per acre Number per Giere Number per acre Number per acre Number per acre Nu~~_~per acre

36 694 28 944 250 o 528

39 o 333 1,462 o 256 77 2,179

37 o 135 108 162 1,081 108 189 54 946

112 223 170 36 54 1,083 116 152 o 45 1,241

.,.. o

41

TABLE 24

PER CENT STOCKING WHITE SPRUCE REGENERATION BY SITE,

AREA 4

Per Cent Stocking Per Cent Stocking First Year1 Five Years After

Site Site

Condition Moderately Moderately Fresh moist Moist Fresh moist Moist

Cut and 56 (102) 31 (42) 14 (59) 8 (102) 0(42) <. 1(59) scarified

Cut not 1 (171) 0(27) 0(4) 2 (In) 0(27) 0(4) scarified

Uncut 1 (97) 0(83) 0(20) 9 (97) 1(83) 5(20)

All 16 (370) 0(152) 10 (83) 8 (370) 1 (152) 2 (83)

1 Figures in brackets represent number of quadratso

42

TABLE 25

NUMBER OF WHITE SPRUCE REGENERATION PER ACRE BY SITE,

AREA 4


Site Site Moderately Moderately

Condition Fresh moist Moist Fresh moist Moist

Cut and 1,412 (17) 125(S) 0(11) 529 (17) O(S) 0(11) sca:::ified

Cut not 0(32) 0(6) 0(1) 0(32) 0(6) 0(1) scarified

Uncut 0(17) 0(16) 0(4) llS(I7) 62(16) 250(4)

All 364(66) 33 (30) 0(16) 167(66) 33 (1) 63 (1)

1 Numbers in brackets equal number of list quadrats 0

40 U)

Ct c::

"'0 30 L

1-Cutover and Scarified CD CD

en I ~ - Cutover not Scarified 'I-0 20

'- o -Uncut CD

.Q

E 10 ::::J

Z

o "'-----I - 3 4-6 7-9 10 -12 13 -15 16 + I - 16 +

Height Class (inches)

Figure 9. Number of white spruce seedlings (excluding cotyledons) by height class five years after treatment, Area 4. (Basis: tallest seedling on each stocked quadrat) .

TABLE 26

DISTRIBUTION OF SEEDBED TYPES AND OCCURRENCE OF WHITE SPRUCE REGENERATION,

ONE AND FIVE YEARS AFTER TREATMENT, AREA 4

Per Cent Occurrence Seedbeds and White Spruce Seedlings

Cut-over scarified areas Cut-over not scarified Uncut areas basis: 203 guads areas basis: 202 quads basis: 200 quads

Type of Seedlings Seedlings Seedlings

seedbed 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd Seedbeds year year Seedbeds year year Seedbeds year year

Litter 48 0 0 80 0 0 92 0 0

Grass 2 0 0 8 0 0 1 0 0

Feather moss 0 1 2 0 0

F-horizon 1 2 0 0 0

Humus 0 0 0

Mineral soil 18 63 90 1 33 0 0

Mixture (organic and 14 34 10 0 0 mineral)

Debris 12 0 0 0 0

Slash 4 0 0 7 0 0 2 0 0

Decayed wood 1 1 0 3 67 100 3 100 100 ~ ~-----.-

~ ~

All 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

45

TABLE 27

PER CENT SURVIVAL AND AVERAGE HEIGHTS WHITE SPRUCE

PLANTATIONS ON AREA 4,

1963 TO JULY 1967

NUI:lber Per Cent Survival Average Height (inches) planted

Plant.ing May July August July July August July site 1963 1963 1964 1967 1963 1964 1967

Cut-over scarified 192 99 95 83 12,2 15.2 2907

Cut-over not scarified 192 97 96 88 lOc6 1208 2600

Uncut 174 99 92 83 9,9 lL 7 19 c 2

46

TABLE 28

PER CENT SURVIVAL OF PLANTED WHITE SPRUCE SEEDLINGS BY PLANTING SITE

AFTER 5 GROWING SEASONS, AREA 4

Cut-over and Cut-over Scarified Unscarified Uncut

Number Survival Number Survival Number Survival Condition on which planted 1967 planted 1967 planted 1967 seedling planted 1963 % 1963 % 1963 %

Litter 72 75 186 88 157 80

F-ho:dzon 17 88 1 100 6 83

Humus 5 100 0 0

Mineral soil 42 83 0 8 88

Overturned soil 42 93 0 0

Litter (base of stump) 7 71 0 0

Slash 2 100 0 0

D.:cayed wood 0 1 100 3 100

Debris piles 5 100 4 100 0

All 192 83 192 88 174 82

47

Trial 5

Location: Twpo 42, Rge. 3, Sec. 10, W.2 Mer. (Figure 10).

Description: Trial 5 is about 34 acres in size and in 1962 the area supported a stand with a spruce basal area of about 122

square feet per ac:r.e and a hardwood basal area of about 28 square feet per acre (Table 29). The terrain is flat; soils are a high-lime clayloam till; and sites vary from fresh to very moist. Most of the area is i.n the fresh to moist categories.

Work done: During the winter of 1962-63 alternate 2-chain-wide st:cips were cut under the supervision of the Saskatchewan government,

In September 1963, portions of the clear-cut strips were scarified with a D-7 crawler-type tractor using a straight blade (Figure 11). Since 1963 was a poor seed year portions of the cut-over scarified areas were seeded. Captan-treated seed was sown with a cyclone seeder at the rate of 1/2 pound per acre; at time of sowing seed was 50 per cent viable. In July 1964, a total of 622 mi.lacre quadrats (213 on cut-over scarified areas, 212 on cutover unscarified areas and 197 on uncut areas) was established to assess regeneration; and six 1/5-acre plots were established in the uncut strips to provide stand data.

Also in the spring of 1964 a total of 363 white spruce seedlings was planted (130 on cut-over scarified areas, 114 on cut-over unsca:dfied areas and 119 on uncut areas) to assess development on the various conditions.

Three permanent observation transects were established in July 1964 to assess seedbed receptiveness with the passing of time.

Results:

1. During the five-year period after logging there was a small increase in basal area of spruce on the uncut strips. Howe~Je!'t

numbers of trees declined from 182 to 176 per acre (Table 29), This was due mostly to blowdowns and/or breaking off of trees along the edges of strips. Very few were observed to be windthrown. Hardwood losses resulted in a decrease of basal area from 30 squexe feet per ac:::e to 26 square feeL On the othe:chand, the number of trees inc:reased from 67 to 145 per acre, witb the greatest increase in the I-inch diameter classo No hardwoods were wind-thrown and mortal! ty was attributed mcdnly to blowdowns of over-aged trees.

2. A greater number of new germinants were tallied on the permanent observation transects in 1965, 1967 and 1968 (Table 30); 1 following good seed years in 1964, 1966 and 1967 (Table 31 ).

ISince Areas 1 and 5 are wi thin a few miles of one another it ffic,y be assumed the information on seed crops taken on Area 1 is applicable to Area 50

48

The low number tallied in 1964 and 1965 was::eflected in the poor seed years in 1963 and 19650 This trend as indicated by Table 30 shows that seedbeds on the cut-over scarified areas five years after treatment (provided seed was available) were still re.ceptiveo

3. Occurrence and abundance of white spruce and ha:rdwood :;-eprodu~.tion five years after treatment is shown in Tables 32 and 330 White spruce seedlings occurred more frequently on cut-over scarified and uncut areas than on cut-o~Ter unsca.:rified areasc Cut-ove.r scarified areas that were seeded showed the highest stocking. The good seed yea,::, in 1967 was retlected in the great abundance of 1968 cotyledons that were present on all conditions, In some instances they made up more than half cf the seedlings measured. However (as has been noted), spruce germinants on untreated seedbeds are not likely to persist. Hardwood reproduc.tion (ma.inly trembling aspen and balsam poplar) was more dominant on cut-over unscarified areas and appeared to show the most vigour on this condition (see Figures 12, 13 and 14). Data showed average heights of hardwoods after five years to be 1001 feet on cut-over unscarified areas, 603 and 605 feet on cut-over scarified and the unc.ut areas respectively.

4. Pe:, cent stocking and abundance of spruce seedlings by site are given in Tables 34 and 35. After five years, seedlings occuned more freque.ntly on cut-over scarified areas, and were mest numerous on the fresh and moderately moist sites, The very moist sites on this condition were least conducive for seedling establishment. Cut-over unscaxified and uncut aoteas showed higher stocking on moderately moi.st and fresh sites than on either the moist and very moist siteso

5. Number of seedlings (excluding cotyledons) five years after t:reatment by height classes is shown in Figure 15, The greatest number and the larges t seedlings occurred on the scari fied a::'eas. Except for the one to three-inch class there were more large see.dlings on the. cut-over unscarified areas than the uncut areas. The great numbers of seedlings in the one to three-inch class and the significantly low numbe::::s of large seedlings on the scarified areas reflects the poor seed years duri.ng the early part of t:;'ials 0 This would indicate that seedlings were late in becoming established, As has been noted, the lack of la::ge seedlings on uncut 0.: eas again tends to suggest that seedlings do not persist on this condition,

6. Distrib1.ltion of seedbed types on each of the three conditions (cutover scarified, cut-over unsca:.ified and uncut) and the occurrence of seedli.ngs on each seedbed is shown in Table 360 These da.ta, like those from Areas 1, 3 and 4, show that the best seedbeds created by scarification for germination and subsequent survival of seedlings are mineral soil and humus. On the other conditions decayed wood appe.ared to be the most favourable germinating media,

49

70 Survival and growth of planted seedlings (Table 37), in keeping with the planting trials on the other areas, was the best on the cut-over scarified areas. Although planting survival rates of seedlings on uncut areas appeared slightly higher than those in cut-over unscarified areas, subsequent seedling development was much poorer. For size and comparison after five years, see Figure 16. Seedlings planted on mineral soil, F horizon and litter exhibited the best survival rates (Table 38). Here again poor results were obtained in plantings on deep litter at base of stumps and on squirrel caches.

Comments:

I. The D-7 tractor with straight blade produced excellent seedbeds.

2. Although scarified areas were well-stocked after five years, it is possible that the treated areas could have been fully stocked, providing that a good seed crop had bean available during the initial establishment years of trials on this area. Regeneration results have shown that the early establishment of seedlings was dependant upon seed supply; i.e., seeded areas supporting more seedlings than non-seeded areas.

3. Difficulties to satisfactorily regenerate the wetter sites to white spruce were apparent. In spite of well prepared seedbeds, the moist and very moist sites after five years were still poorly stocked. Prepared seedbeds on these sites were especially prone to fiooding during periods of heavy percipitations. Deeply scalped seedbeds on very moist sites in many instances remained nonproductive due to flooding.

40 For the five-year period after logging, losses to wind damage of residual spruce in the uncut strips was not excessive. The few "wind-throws" observed were confined to shallow rooted trees on moist and very moist sites. It can be assumed that the trees on fresh and moderately moist sites are deeper rooted and consequently are more windfirm. On the other hand, it is possible the stands as yet may not have experienced extremely strong winds. Losses due to aging of trees will undoubtedly increase with the passing of timec

5. Survival and growth of planted seedlings has followed trends similar to those on the other areas. It was best on the cut-over scarified areas; growth on cut-over unscarified areas was superior to plantings in uncut stands. Therefore, if any degree of planting success is to be expected, some form of site preparation would be a requirement.

Veillardville •

LEGEND Provincial highways and roads ••••• --@-Secondary roads and trails •••••••

o 2 4 6 Miles 5 c a Ie: III -=:::j' __ i:' =:::::jl

Sagnis L. \

}

i , --, ,

"".......... I ~ ........ __ ...... -, I

McBride L. - - -..... \ ...... -" ...... ,\ , , ,

" (

\ I

,,""

;f /

J r I \ ... ./

;f

~

VSK 4/14/70

Figure 10. Location of Area 5; Twp. 42, Rge 3, Sec. 10,

W.2 Mer.

LEGEND Regeneration transect ...........••• ---. Permanent observation transect ...•.• -"'-

Scarified areas ...•.•..•..•••••... ~ Scarified and seeded areas ......•.• ~ Plantation plots •..•••••••.•••.••• A,B, C

Scale: o 2 3 4 chains ... -

/

'" . ", '"

'" '" "

/ /

/ I

I

T I'\) I'\)

"

I~

I'\) CD

t----St rip - II I ~·~"-;~::;:::,-->-,.-~-I

Cut -over I •

I

") I'\) Strip - 7 01 Cut -over

./ .....

..... ~trlp-6 .....

~ .....

.... .....

.....

~ <0 I

Strip-4 Uncut

1= Strip-3

Cut - over

" Strip - 2 " " iOl Uncut " " " 7

Strip -I Cut -over

.....

~

.c:: -\". o <:

Strip - 5 ) Cut-over

I

"

VSK 4/6/70

Figure 11. Sketch of Area 5 showing cut-over strips, scarified areas and location of sample plots.

TABLE 29

STAND TABLE, AREA 5

(basis - 6, 1/5-acre P.S.P.'s)

Before Cutting Five Years After Treatment

White spruce Hardwoods White SEruce Hardwoods Basal Basal Basal Basal

Number area Number area Number area Number area D.B.H. of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre of trees per acre

(inches) 2er acre _(s~.ft.) . per acre (sq. ft.) 2~E.?cre .. (sq. ft.) per acre (sq.ft.)

1 1.7 .008 29.2 .146 2.5 .012 Ill. 7 .558 2 9.2 .202 5.0 .110 8.3 .183 5.0 .1l0 3 5.0 .245 1.7 .083 4.2 .206 2.5 .122 4 8.3 .722 7.5 .652 0.8 .070 5 2.5 .340 4.2 .571 6 8.3 1.627 5.8 1.137 7 7.5 2.002 0.8 .214 9.2 2.456 8 9.2 3.211 7.5 2.618 9 14.2 6.276 12.5 5.525

"10 23.3 12.698 19.2 10.464 11 15.0 9.900 3.3 2.178 14.2 9.372 0.8 .528 12 20.8 16.328 10.0 7.850 20.8 16.328 8.3 6.516 13 16.7 15.397 5.0 4.610 16.7 15.397 5.8 5.348 14 12.5 13.362 5.8 6.200 14.2 15.180 4.2 4.490 15 11. 7 14.356 2.5 3.068 10.8 13.252 3.3 4.049 16 9.2 12.843 1.7 2.373 10.0 13.960 0.8 1.117 17 2.5 3.940 0.8 1.261 2.5 3.940 0.8 1.261 18 1.7 3.004 0.8 1.414 3.3 5.831 19 0.8 1.575 0.8 1.575 0.8 1.575 20 0.8 1. 746 21 0.8 1.924 22 0.8 2.112 0.8 2.112

I.J1 All 181. 7 121.894 66.6 29.507 175.8 122.695 144.8 25.744 N

53

TABLE 30

NUMBER OF NEW WHITE SPRUCE GERMINANTS TALLIED ANNUALLY ON

PERMANENT OBSERVATION TRANSECTS 1964 TO 1968,

AREA 5

Number of New Germi.nants Transect Total Area number (aq.fto) 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968

1 240 4 33 2 68 146

2 183 4 57 0 41 159

3 239 0 29 0 34 172

All 662 8 119 2 143 477

Number per acr-e 526 7,830 132 9,409 31~387

TABLE 31

WHITE SPRUCE SEEDFALL AREA 1, 1963 TO 1967

Number Per Acre 1

Location 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967

Uncut strip 2 3,262,200(10)

South 1/3 278,461 (13) 3,049,090(11) 52,500 (16) 2,506,667(6)

Middle 1/3 340,000(9) 2,816,000(5) 66,667(21) 2,669,333(15) 3,126,154 (13)

North 1/3 343,636 (11) 3,640,000(5) 65,333 (15) 2,282,500(8) 2,345,714 (14)

Average 316,970(33) 3,134,286(21) 61,923(52) 2,528,276(29) 2,867,568(37)

Cut-over strip

South 1/3 264,444(9) 2,542,222(9) 91,250(16) 77 8,000 ( 10) 2,170,000(4)

Middle 1/3 150,667(15) 2,521,250(16) 47,826(23) 785,000(24) 2,157,273(22)

North 1/3 121,053 (19) 2,408,750 (16) 38,750 (16) 1,406,667(12) 2,546,667(12)

Average 177,674 (43) 2,481,951(41) 57,818(55) 945,652(46) 2,281,579(38)

1 Germination test of 1963 seed in January 1965 on 500 seeds indicated 7% viability. Cutting test of 1964 seed in December 1965 indicated 63% sound. Cutting test of 1965 seed in January 1968 indicated 33% sound. Cutting test of 1966 seed in January 1968 indicated 57% sound. Cutting test of 1967 seed in December 1968 indicated 46% sound.

2Figures in brackets indicate number of traps on which estimates were based. \J1 ~

TABLE 32

PER CENT QUADRATS STOCKED TO WHITE SPRUCE AND HARDWOODS,

AREA 5


White sEruce Hardwoods White sEruce Hardwoods 3

Number Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance of eration growth eration growth eration growth eration growth

Condition guadrats % % % % % % % %

Cut and 1381

471

0 40 681

0 60 scarified 75

2 9

2 51

2

Cut not scarified 212 3 9 70 26 8 79

Uncut 197 5 28 55 49 25 56

All 622 14 12 55 46 11 65

1 Figures apply to seeded areas. 2 Figures apply to non-seeded areas. 3 All hardwoods regeneration classed as advance growth.

VI VI

TABLE 33

NUMBER OF WHITE SPRUCE AND HARDWOOD STEMS PER ACRE,

AREA 5


White Spruce Hardwoods3 White Spruce Hardwoods Number Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance list eration growth eration growth eration growth eration growth

Condition quadrats Number per acre Number per acre Number per acre Number per acre

Cut and scarified

Cut not scarified

Uncut

All

(26)1 (14)2

40

36

116

(769)~ (214)

75

56

241

1 Figures apply to seeded areas.

o

50

778

259

2 Figures apply to non-seeded areas.

3All hardwoods regeneration classed as advance growth.

1,375

4,500

1,556

2,509

(12,538) ( 8,571)

975

1,972

4,793

o 2,175

75 3,375

694 1,556

241 2,396

VI Q\

Figure 12.

57

Example of hardwoods reproduction on a cut-over unscarified strip five years after treatment, Area 5. Note vigour and density.

Figure 13.

58

Example of hardwood reproduction on a cut-over scarified strip five years after treatment, Area 5. Note hardwoods less dense.

Figure 14.

59

General view of stand in an uncut strip five years after treatment, Area 5. Note general scarcity of hardwood reproduction.

TABLE 34

PER CENT STOCKING WHITE SPRUCE REGENERATION BY SITE,

AREA 5

Per cent Stocking First Year -1-

Per cent Stocking Five Years After


Condition Fresh moist Moist moist Fresh moist Moist moist

Cut and 42 (77) 37(59) 30(50) 11 (27) 80 (77) 70(59) 42(50) 30 (27) scarified

Cut not 0(70) 4 (98) 0(22) 3(22) 24(70) 31 (98) 18(22) 23(22)

scarified

Uncut 6 (108) 6(63) 0(17) 0(9) 45 (108) 57(63) 29 (17) 78(9)

All 15(255) 14(220) 17(89) 10 (58) 50(255) 49(220) 34(89) 34(58)


Q'\ o

TABLE 35


AREA 5



Condition , Fresh moist Moist moist moist Moist moist

Cut and 583(12) 909 (11) 455 (11) 167(6) 23,000(12) 11,364(11) 3,273(11) 1,500(6) scarified

Cut not 0(13) 0(18) 0(5) 750(4) 231 (13) 1,278(18) 400 (5) 2,750 (4) scarified

Uncut 100(20) 0(12) 0(3) 0(1) 1,400(20) 3,167(12) 1,000(3) 2,000(1)

All 200(45) 244(41) 263(19) 667(11) 6,822(45) 4,536(41) 2,158(19) 1,909 (11)

1 Figures in brackets represent number of list quadrats.

0'\ ....

110

20

10

0'-----1-3 4-6

Height 7-9

C I a ss

10-12 1-12

(inches)

Figure 15. Number of white spruce seedlings (excluding cotyledons) by height closs five years after treatment, Area 5. (Basis: tallest seedling on each stocked quadrat) .

TABLE 36

DISTRIBUTION OF SEEDBED TYPES AND OCCURRENCE OF WHITE SPRUCE SEEDLINGS

ONE YEAR AND FIVE YEARS AFTER TREATMENT, AREA 5

Per Cent Occurrence Seedbeds and White SEruce Seedlings

Cut-over scarified Cut-over not scarified Uncut areas basis: 213 g,uads areas basis: 212 guads basis: 197 quads

Type ' Seedlings Seedlings Seedlings of 1st 5th 1st 5th 1st 5th

Seedbed Seedbeds year year Seedbeds year year Seedbeds year year

Litter 4 0 1 72 0 13 78 0 30

Grass 1 0 0 10 0 0 5 0 1

Feather mosS 0 1 0 9 8 0 11

F-Horizon 2 0 5 2 0 16 0

Humus 18 34 29 1 14 18 0

Mineral soil 41 65 50 0 1 3

Mixt~re (organic 2 0 3 0 0 and mineral)

Debris piles 31 0 8 1 0 0 0

Slash 0 5 0 0 0

Decayed wood 1 1 4 8 86 44 8 100 55

All 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

0\ W

Planting site

Cut-over sc.arified

Cut-over not scarified

Uncut

TABLE 37

PER CENT SURVIVAL AND AVERAGE HEIGHTS, WHITE SPRUCE PLANTATIONS

ON AREA 5, 1964 TO AUGUST 1968

Number Per Cent Survival Average Height (inches) planted After spring August August August August planting August August August

1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1964 1965 1966 1967

130 82 78 70 68 5.7 9.0 13.2 18.0

135 62 56 56 53 5.6 7.6 10.7 13.6

119 66 65 62 55 5.6 6.4 8.7 10.0

August 1968

20.2

15.3

10.5

0'\ -'='"

Left: Cut-over scarified (42.3 inches)

Center: Cut-over unscarified (36.2 inches)

Right: Uncut stand (16.2 inches)

Figure 16. Height comparison of tallest planted white spruce seedlings on three planting sites after five years, Area 5.

C7

66

TABLE 38

PER CENT SURVIVAL OF PLANTED WHITE SPRUCE SEEDLINGS

BY PLANTING SITE AFTER 5 GROWING SEASONS, AREA 5

Cut-over and Cut-over Scarified Unscarified Uncut

Number Survival Number Survival Number Survival Condition on which planted 1968 planted 1968 planted 1968 seedling planted 1964 (%) 1964 (%) 1964 (%)

Litter 5 20 98 61 89 60

Feather moss 0 0 7 43

F-horizon 12 75 6 83 0

Humus 11 27 1 100 0

Overturned sod 2 100 0 0

Mineral soil 87 79 0 0

Litter (base of stump) 2 50 10 30 12 33

Slash 0 11 0 5 40

Decayed wood 0 3 38 4 75

Debris 11 27 0 0

Squirrel cache 0 1 0 2 0

Al1 130 68 135 53 119 55

67

Trial 6

Location: Twpo 66, Rge. 10, Sec. 9, W.3 Mer. (Figure 17)

Description; Trial 6 is on an area about 33 acres in size which in 1964 supported a stand containing white spruce, other softwoods

(mainly balsam fir) and poplar. The spruce basal area was about 62 square feet per acre, other softwoods 62 square feet per acre and hardwoods eight square feet per acre (Table 39). The terrain is undulating; the soil is a sandy clay-loam till; and sites vary from fresh to moist. Fresh moderately moist and moist site occupy relatively equal amounts of the areao


government. Seedbed treatment was carried out on the cut-over strips in Septembe.r 1965. A TD-203 crawler-type tractor with a straight blade was used.

In July 1966, a total of 315 milacre quadrats were established to assess regeneration; 204 quadrats were located on cut-over strips (102 on scarified ground and. 102 on unscarified) and 1:1,1 on uncut strips (Figure 18). In addition, 8 liS-acre plots were established in the uncut strips to provide stand data.

Results:

1. Occurrence and abundance of white spruce, balsam fir and white birch reproduction are shown in Tables 40 and 41. It would appear that within five years the cut-over areas will be well stocked with spruce, fir and white birch.

2. Occurrence and abundance of white spruce regeneration by site is shown in Tables 42 and 43; all sites on the cut-over scarified area appear to be restocking well. Although large numbers of seedlings have been recorded on the uncut areas it is expected that they will not persist.

3. Distribution of seedbed types and occurrence of white spruce and balsam fir regeneration on each seedbed is shown in Table 44. Mineral soil and decayed wood appear to be the best seedbeds.

Comments:

L This trial has not been established long enough to make a final statement about the status of regeneration. However, based on the present data it would appear that the treatment will be successful in promoting adequate spruce regeneration.

C! " .'1) Island

.c:: ..... \,. ~

~ DORE LAKE ---, ,

LEGEND Provincial highways and roads ..... ~

Little Sled L.

Figure 17.

o 2 4 6 Miles S CO Ie: " _=:iI' __ t' =::::;jl

VSK 4/15/70

Location of Area 6.

Twp. 66, Rge. 10, Sec. 9, W.3 Mer.

,. ,. ;'

, / , o,,'lI /

;'

LEGEND ;' Uncut ;'

I fbc../

;' I ~/ t I ~4.. / , '

Strip -I '" (1/5 - acre) Regeneration transect.......... •

* All portions of cut -over strips scarified in a herring bone pattern.~

o Scale: _ 2:3 4 chains

I I

I , " ~\ ~

I CIJ , I

\ Strip - 2 t \ , f -I Cut-over

Uncut Strip-3 cd1 , \ .$"

\ \ Cut -over Strip - 4 ,

Uncut Strip-5 .. 01. ,

I

ED I

1 I

I I

I

\l~ \~ Cut -over Strip - 6

G3 Uncut Strip - 7

I Cut-over Strip-8 (

Uncut Strip - 9

Figure 18. Sketch of Area 6 showing cut-over strips and location of sample plots.

.-..1

, I I I ,

I---J

..c::: ...... \.. o ~

VSK 4/7/70

/

71

TABLE 40

PER CENT QUADRATS STOCKED TO WHITE SPRUCE, BALSAM FIR AND HARDWOODS,

AREA 6

First Year

White sEruce Balsam fir Hardwoods Regen- Advance Regen- Advance Regen- Advance

Condition Number eration growth eration growth eration growth quadrats % % % % % %

Cut and 79

1 scarified 102 34 8 26 11 1

Cut not scarified 102 8 21 36 80 6 13

Uncut 111 8 17 58 88 1 13

All 315 17 15 40 61 30 12

1 These figures represent. white birch regeneration; all other hardwoods regeneration were classed as advance growth.

74

TABLE 43


AREA 6

Number Per Acre First yearl

Site Moderately

Condition Fresh moist Moist

Cut and scarified 1,000(20) 500(4) 3,000 (1)

Cut not scarified 0(12) 0(0) 0(1)

Uncut 429 (14) 1,600(5) 0(2)

All 565(46) 1 111 (9) , 750(4)

1 Figures in brackets equal number of list quadrats,

TABLE 44

DISTRIBUTION OF SEEDBED TYPES AND OCCURRENCE OF SOFTWOOD REGENERATION

ON AREA 6

Per Cent Occurrence Seedbeds and White Spruce Regeneration

Cut-over scarified Cut-over unscarified Uncut

Seedbed basis: 102 g,uads basis: 102 g,uads basis: 111 quads

types Seedbeds wS bF Seedbeds wS bF Seedbeds wS bF

Litter 0 49 12 11 29 11 2

Grass 0 1 0 0 0

Feather moss 0 14 0 38 41 0 45

F-horizon 2 0 4 0

Humus <1 3 0 0

Mineral soil 63 94 73 0

Litter disturbed 11 0 8 0

Debris 22 0 8 <:1 0 0

Overturned root 0 0 <1 0 0

Slash 0 14 0 0 9 0 0 ......

Decayed wood 2 3 7 22 88 51 21 89 53 \.n

All 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

76

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Results from the five trials undertaken to determine whether scarification on an operational basis and in conjunction with logging would result in adequate spruce regeneration are most promising. Except for Trial 4 regeneration on the treated areas is adequate five years after treatment or indications are that it will be. The poor results from Trial 4 are attributed to poor scarification.

Of the two types of equipment used to make seedbeds (Saskatchewan fire-line plow and bulldozer blade) it is concluded that the ordinary blade is better for scarifying on the mesic sites. Practically all of the seedbeds made by this tool are suitable for regeneration and remain receptive for some years. Seedbeds such as piles of debris and overturned sod are generally not very good--they dry out too fast.

The Saskatchewan fire-line plow appears to be a reasonably good tool for treating the moister sites where footing for the tractor is poor. It can be maneuvered around stumps much easier than a blade without much danger of the tractor becoming stuck. By careful manipulation the operator can scalp off the litter exposing excellent humus seedbed. On the other hand, the one occasion where the Saskatchewan fire-line plow was used on mesic sites poor seedbeds were made. Coverage was poor and ploughing was too deep resulting in deep~furrows and high ridges--conditions not suitable for seedling establishment.

Results have shown that good seed crops are essential to obtain good regeneration. Since seedbeds remain receptive for a number of years it would appear that lack of seed will not be a limiting factor at least in that portion of the B18a Forest Section in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. On the other hand, for early establishment of seedlings it may be feasible to seed scarified areas when seed crops are poor.

Survival results for transplants set out on the various areas have also been most promising. They indicate that white spruce can be planted successfully on cut-over areaso Pre-planting site preparation by scarification improves survival and growth of transplants.

It is quite evident from the results of these trials (established in different places at different times) that white spruce can be reproduced after logging. Scarification is necessary to provide seedbeds on planting sites and should be restricted to the fresh, moderately moist and moist sites.

17

REFERENCES

Candy, R.H. (1951). Reproduction on cut-over and burned-over land in Canada. Canada Dept. of Resources and Development. For. Br., For. Res. Div., Silv. Res. Note No. 92.

Lees, J.C. 1963. Partial cutting with scarification in Alberta spruceaspen stands. Dept. of Forestry of Canada. Publ. No. 1001.

1964. A test of harvest cutting methods in Alberta's spruce-aspen forest. Dept. of Forestry of Canada. Publ. No. 10420

Phelps, V.H. 1948. White spruce reproduction in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Canada Dept. Mines and Resources, Lands Parks and Forests Branch, Dom. For. Servo Silvo Res. Note. 86.

1951. Survival of white spruce seedlings. Canada Dept. Resources and Development, For. Br., For. Res. Div. Silv. Leaflet No. 56.

clear cutting alternate strips and scarifying …nofc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/bookstore_pdfs/23258.pdf ·...

Documents